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The number of rough sleepers is down to an all time low of just over 500 across the whole of England, according to the latest government statistics.

A total of 504 people were sleeping rough on any one night this year, compared to 1,850 in 1998 and 596 last year, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister reports.

Westminster had the highest count of 133 rough sleepers, followed by the City of London with 36 and Leeds with 23. Only 10 rough sleepers were recorded in Bristol and nine in Manchester.

But Mike Tristram, the director of the Simon Community, which works with homeless people in London, said: “These figures certainly don’t square with the kind of figures that we and other people have been picking up. There is a growing discrepancy between organisations such as ourselves and the official counts that are going on."

“Our experience is that while there is more provision available there are still significant numbers of people out there whose needs are not being met," he said.